Five Brothers and a War

1944 Summary

Apr 11

RAF bombs Dutch central population registry at Kleykamp, The Hague, where duplicates of all Dutch municipal records were kept; two key LO-LKP contacts and a number of other employees lose their lives. Nazi party official Blokzijl promises general pardon if those in hiding end their resistance. Execution of communist party official Postma. Betrayal and arrest of KP-Aalten and beyond. Americans take Hollandia, New Guinea, Dutch East Indies. Van Heuven Goedhart leaves for England. Group Gerrit van der Veen fails in its raid on Amsterdam penitentiary. Germans arrest L.O.-founder Frits de Zwerver (Rev. F. Slomp) at Ruurlo. Russians recapture Sebastopol. KP-raid on Arnhem jail, De Zwerver set free. Bleijs, a priest, leaves for England as L.O.'s representative.

Apr 17

Apr 18 Apr 20

Apr 24

May 01

May 11 May 15 May 16 May 17 May 18 Jun 01 Jun 04 Jun 06

Germans arrest LKP-leader Valstar. Round-ups of gypsies and homeless.

KP-raid on Hoitsema Printing nets resistance movement 133,450 coupon cards.

Monte Cassino falls to Allies after 3-month battle. Gestapo in Holland receives new commander, Schongarth.

Allies take Rome, earlier declared “open city.”

D-Day, Allies land on Normandy beaches. Germans take 1,500 prisoners to Vught from jail in Scheveningen, between July and September 400 executed. Gerrit van der Veen killed as were 22 resistance men at Overveen. Queen Wilhelmina and Gerbrandy order resistance movement to better coordinate activities.

Jun 08

history Jun 10 Jun 11

Agents van der Giessen and van Rietschoten executed at Haaren. KP-raid on Arnhem penitentiary frees 56 resistance workers.

Jun 12 Jun 13

Germans introduce changes to ration card.

First of many V-1 rockets lands in England. Gestapo raids L.O.'s central ID counterfeiting office in Amsterdam. First Allied air raid hits Japan. King Leopold of Belgium “evacuates” to Germany.

Jun 15 Jun 21 Jun 25 Jul 03

Raid on meeting of provincial L.O. in Weert, Limburg.

Allies take Cherbourg.

National leadership of various resistance groups meets, forms umbrella group. Minsk retaken by Russians. RAF drops communications officers for resistance groups. Von Kluge new German commander for Western Europe. Raid by KP Johannes Post on penitentiary Weteringsschans, Amsterdam, fails.

Jul 06

Jul 14 Jul 16

Johannes Post executed.

Five Brothers and a War

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